The St. Louis Cardinals (92-68) will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (61-99) on Tuesday in what will be the fifth consecutive matchup between the two teams. Righty Dakota Hudson (8-7) is the projected starter for the visiting Cardinals, while JT Bubaker (3-11) will get the start for the home Pirates. Below we continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Pirates prediction and pick.

Dakota Hudson will make his start of the season for St. Louis. In two appearances since his September 21st promotion from Triple-A, Hudson has allowed no earned runs in 11 innings pitched. Hudson has put together an up-and-down season for the Cardinals. In 26 appearances Hudson owns a 4.07 ERA to go along with his 8-7 record. The twenty-eight-year-old has struck out 77 batters in his 137 innings of work. This will be Hudson's first matchup with the Pirates this season. The righty has been considerably worse away from Busch Stadium this season. As a matter of fact, he has gone 3-5 (5.13 ERA) in away matchups compared to 5-2 (2.84 ERA) at home. In his last appearance, Hudson threw 3 scoreless innings against the Dodgers in an eventual loss.

For Pittsburgh, JT Brubaker is slated to make his first start since September 16th. The righty has been unavailable in recent weeks thanks to discomfort in his right lat. On the season, Brubaker has gone just 3-12 thanks to a 4.58 ERA. This will be the twenty-eight-year-old's 28th start of the season. In 141 innings the Brubaker has struck out 145 batters. Brubaker has faced St. Louis three times this season and is 0-2. In 14 innings pitched against the Cardinals Brubaker has allowed 9 runs – including 4 home runs. In his last appearance before the injury, JT was rocked by the Mets. He lasted just 3 innings and gave up 5 runs to the Mets in a loss.

Here are the Cardinals-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Pirates Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+138)

Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-166)

Over: 7.5 (-114)

Under: 7.5 (-106)

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

St. Louis has locked down the National League Central and is in the process of preparing for their Friday playoff game. They'll be the 3 seed in the National League and will take on either the Phillies or Padres in the Wild Card best-of-three. With their postseason fate sealed St. Louis has largely taken the foot off the gas in recent games. This will be the fifth straight meeting between the Cardinals and Pirates. Pittsburgh has taken the last two.

Often it's hard to find much excitement in a team resting for the playoffs but this year's Cardinals are no ordinary team. This is the Albert Pujols farewell season. Pujols has given fans plenty to be excited about even with their postseason plans locked. The future hall-of-famer notably eclipsed the 700 home run mark last week but has not stopped there. In last night's 3-2 loss Pujols homered yet again – giving him 703 for his career. His hot play is something to keep in mind when making a Cardinals-Pirates prediction.

Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread

Pittsburgh has been eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time now but that doesn't mean they have nothing to play for. The Pirates are trying to avoid their second consecutive season. With 99 losses coming into today, they'll need to win tonight and tomorrow to avoid seeing their loss column containing the century mark in back-to-back years. The Pirates are coming off a thrilling 3-2 win over the Cardinals which saw Oneil Cruz walk it off on a 4 pitch walk.

Cruz has certainly been the player to watch as of late. In his last five games, the rookie phenom has gone 10-22. He holds a .520 on-base percentage in those games. Cruz has been inconsistent in his debut season. For the season, the 6'7 shortstop hit .230 with 17 home runs. After a rough August, Cruz has flashed his sky-high potential lately. In September Cruz hit .284 with 6 home runs. Aiding his case for a big game tonight, the twenty-three-year-old has terrorized St. Louis this season. In 20 games against the Cardinals, Cruz has hit .350 – his highest against any team this year. That being said, Cruz is the type of player who could turn a late-season hot stretch into a breakout year when next spring rolls around. Look for the rookie to continue his strong play of late.

Final Cardinals-Pirates Prediction & Pick

The Cardinals don't have anything to play for tonight as they've already locked in their playoff spot. This is a stay-away for me but if you're looking for some action I'd be hard-pressed to bet against St. Louis. Look for the Cardinals to try and get some positive momentum heading into the playoffs.

Final Cardinals-Pirates Prediction & Pick: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+138)